Thousands of protesters who have flooded Belarusian cities for six weeks of demonstrations to demand an end to the 26-year rule of the country’s authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko include people of all ages, professions and social groups.
While younger people make up the bulk of the protests pushing for Lukashenko’s resignation after the Aug. 9 vote that the opposition sees as rigged, many retirees also have joined the daily demonstrations. Some of them spoke to The Associated Press about their motives and their hopes.
Nina Bahinskaya, 73, poses for a photo holding an old Belarusian national flag at an entrance of her apartment building in Minsk, Belarus. The 73-year-old former geologist has become one of the most recognizable faces of Belarus protests, fearlessly waving a huge opposition's red-and-white flag in front of riot police. (Image: AP)
Ales Marachkin, 80, poses for a photo with a poster showing Belarus's neighbouring countries at the entrance of his apartment building in Minsk, Belarus. (Image: AP)
Vital Ravinski poses for a photo holding a poster reads "Fascism will not pass" at an entrance of his apartment building in Minsk, Belarus. Ravinski, a 75-year-old former doctor, attended some protests together with his granddaughters, aged 17 and 29. "I come out to protest so that my children and grandchildren have a good life," he said. "By joining the protests, I show that everyone can do it without any fear." (Image: AP)
Mikhail Batsyan and his wife Ludmila Batsyan pose for a photo draped in an old Belarusian national flag at an entrance of their apartment building in Minsk, Belarus. The 69-year-old former diplomat has regularly joined protests together with his wife after their daughter fled the country to Ukraine with her boyfriend after they were beaten by police in the first days after the August 9 election. (Image: AP)
Larisa Koval, 68, poses for a photo holding an umbrella in the colours of an old Belarusian national flag at the entrance of her apartment building in Minsk, Belarus. The 68-year-old sales expert said that she had little interest in politics before signing up to work as an observer during the August 9 election and witnessing vote-rigging. Early during the protests, she sheltered a young protester when he was hunted by police during a post-election raid in the Belarusian capital. (Image: AP)
Halina Lahatskaya poses for a photo holding a poster that reads "come out to the people, coward" at an entrance of her apartment building in Minsk, Belarus. Lahatskaya, a 60-year-old construction engineer, said she tries to speak to riot police when she attends protests. "I'm trying to find something humane in them," she said. She argued that the Belarusian leader has lost public support, noting that even her 94-year-old father who always voted for Lukashenko cast his ballot for opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. (Image: AP)
Tamara Ruzhenkova poses for a photo at an entrance of her apartment building in Minsk, Belarus. The 66-year-old cello teacher at a musical school sees the regular protests as a "breath of fresh air." She denounced Lukashenko's description of protesters as "drug-addicts," noting that his speeches demonstrate a "complete lack of culture." (Image: AP)
Yan Gryb poses for a photo holding a small Belarusian national flag at an entrance of his apartment building in Minsk, Belarus. The 85-year-old Hryb, who worked as a school teacher, said he hopes to live to the day when Lukashenko steps down, adding that it should be declared a national holiday. Hryb lamented that the Belarusians have been patient with Lukashenko for too long. (Image: AP)
Natalya Kachanovskaya poses for a photo holding a newspaper "Narodnaya Volya" at an entrance of her apartment building in Minsk, Belarus. Kachanouskaya, a 72-year-old English teacher, said she has participated in protests against Lukashenko's rule ever since he took the helm in 1994. She said she was instructing her 16-year-old grandson how to avoid being detained by police, adding that he was rounded up once because he failed to follow her advice. (Image: AP)